Delving Into the Abyss: Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Taking place in Northern Italy during the WWII in the Nazi-Fascist regime, ‘Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom’ pityingly depicts the perversion of four fascist liberating themselves in their private prison. It even kidnaps and detains nine juvenile prisoners: boys and girls, equally—all of whom are deprived of basic human rights, heinous abuses, and constant torturing for 120 days minimum. It develops in an enclosed space of a villa, or, in other words, there is a single space where the evil intentions of the captors and an oppressive power reign. The best known of Pasolini’s films may be ‘Salò’; a film that explores themes of totalitarianism, the abuse of power, and the loss of innocence in regard to the essence of human depravity. The film by Pier Paolo Pasolini is, in every frame, relentlessly pessimistic, and consistently probes the abyss of the soul. The mood of the film is hopelessly dark; and the story is presented in bleak noir style that seems to linger in the viewers mind for days, weeks, months…forever.
The acting is raw and realistic, the portrayal of actions and feelings are genuinely disturbing. Even if these actors are not very famous, they do a great job depicting the grotesque sadism of their characters: Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Uberto Paolo Quintavalle, and Aldo Valletti. The protagonists, represented by a group of young actors, symbolically represent purity and death, their acting engulfs the audience with horror and a sense of compassion…
As for the director’s intent: Pier Paolo Pasolini achieves a provocative denunciation of fascistic degeneration and social corruption. His direction is edgy and challenging, and for the most part focuses on the fundamental aspects of violence without over-dramatisation. This ability of shedding all the social restraints and presenting the raw sinful nature of people makes Pasolini’s vision brutally effective .
Morricone’s music score enhances the movie’s setting and feeling that one is suffocating throughout the film . The music is symbolic though used minimally throughout the film, it appears at times of great inconvenience and the haunting music that follows. Morricone’s score here is yet another beautiful text that deepens an already provocative experience… The look of ‘Salò’ is particular straight forward… it’s ugly, harsh, and at its best, very real. The interiors of the villa are desiccated and limited in space and are depicted the way further enhances the over all eerie tenor of the narrative. In use of formal and static structure he emphasizes the ordinariness of evil, and in chronicling the setting captures the suffocating oppressiveness of captors over captives.
In terms of his technical or production work, the film effectively captures fascist environment. The beauty of the villa against the horrible acts taking place produces an exquisite friction that is hard to explain. Such contrasts make the overall mood of the film more sinister and carry the themes of the shallowness of the veneer further than in other movies by Pasolini.
Even though the movie ‘Salò’ is filled with horrors, the emphasis is made on the psychological side rather than on the special effects. The presentation of the actual suffering is kept real and not mechanically distorted through special effects, which coupled with powerful performance and direction gives the viewer a personal, rather vulgar experience of discomfort.
Enzo Ocone’s editing builds up the film’s misery deliberately in terms of montage. The strict and most probably intentional scene construction, which shows the rise and climax of horror as well as its suffer to climax, enchants and repels in its turn. The transformation is gradual and systematic, underlining the relentless demoralisation which is without reprieve.
The rhythm of the film is slow, but very smooth, which reflects the process of degeneration of the captives. This increases the feeling of claustrophobia as there is nowhere the viewer can turn away from the horror – a perfect thing to maintain tension throughout.
Pasolini’s dialog in ‘Salò’ is very much in your face, for the purpose of depicting the nonchalant sadism and sodomizing philosophy of the owners. It is too deliberately that blatantly and disturbingly, the severities enlighten the perverted conceptions of power and domination of the libertines. At the same time, pining of the captives works as minimalistic element which proclaims their hopelessness and voices feeble complaints.
This explicates why Pier Paolo Pasolini’s last film has become cult one shockingly offending and fascination the spectators. While in its narrative it remains highly eroticised and truthful to its source material, this manner of depicting its characters and its portrayals of human nature draw the work criticism to this day. But, there is a deep-meaning at the core of it all that poses a question about the crimes and the obliviousness inherent in the structures of authority.
I was particularly shocked watching ‘Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom’ because this film defied my expectations by raising the issue that might remain unnoticed by those who are in the power. What makes for its greatness is this idea that it never lies, never shirks from reflection, and never fails to rouse passion. The movie makes people face the gross side of the human kind which has to be seen as the Grim discovery.
